Just How Did Carl Hardee Jr. and Sr. Dream Up Ribs on a Burger?

Latest Spot Promotes the Chain's Baby Back Rib Burger

By Alexandra Jardine.Published on Apr 28, 2017

Editor's Pick

Carl Hardee Jr. and Sr. are back in a new spot from the restaurant chain that explains how the Baby Back Rib Burger was born.

The father and son duo, played by Drew Tarver and Charles Esten respectively, were first introduced in a spot by 72andSunny in late March following the company's rebranding. In this ad, they're eating at a rib joint when they get -- or rather steal -- the "million dollar" idea to put ribs on a burger. "Somebody finally put real ribs on a burger," says the voiceover -- in perhaps a dig at McRib. "It was us."

Wayne McClammy at Hungry Man directed the spot, which will debut nationally on May 1, promoting the new burger. We're told the rib supplier for the product, Bubba's-Q, is owned and operated by former Detroit Lions' football star Al "Bubba" Baker and is a recent success story in its own right after garnering major investment from "Shark Tank's" Daymond John.

Now let's see how this fares against McDonald's beloved McRib, which features the rib, but not the burger part.